The Karnataka High Court has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts’ judiciary till May 22, stating that recording of evidence in all civil and criminal cases in the courts will be made only via video-conferencing.
The SOP has stated that it will be open for the courts to record evidence by physically calling the witnesses only in those criminal cases where there is a time-bound schedule fixed for disposal by the Supreme Court or by the High Court. The remand court set up at Gurunanak Bhavan will start functioning from April 29.
Apart from other guidelines, the High Court has requested the district courts and trial courts not to pass any adverse orders on the ground of the absence of advocates and the accused on bail.
The principal district judges have been asked to identify separate vacant court halls for the purpose of receiving or remand of the accused. They have also been asked to request the bar associations not to hold elections till the end of May 2021.